West End News: October 25

The West End community was shocked and saddened by the explosion at Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor power plant this week. Just a week ago, plant manager Dave Rannetsberger had reported nearly three years of operation without a lost-time accident. Safety has long been the number one priority for Minnesota Power in all their operations, so it’s particularly disheartening for that great record to be broken with such a serious accident. In our small community, a disaster in any family touches almost everyone. We all send the sincerest best wishes to the entire Fredrickson family.

There are several interesting things happening at Birch Grove School and Community Center, as usual. The annual PTO Halloween Carnival is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28, from 2 until 4 p.m. The carnival is fun for all ages and is a significant source of funds for Birch Grove School. If you’d like to donate a cake for the cakewalk, drop it off on Friday before 6 p.m., or just bring it to the event.

I have many happy memories from the carnival, but one of my favorites is from the cakewalk many, many years ago. Greg Tofte was running it that year and Kathy Horak had donated one of her famous apple pies that was still warm from the oven. I won the pie, which was great, but I always suspected that Greg might have rigged the result so I couldn’t lose. He denied it at the time, but my suspicion lingers.

The Birch Grove Foundation is thinking about offering Early Childhood Family Education in the West End again after a long absence. I attended ECFE with each of my children and I can’t say enough about what a wonderful and productive program it is. The benefits are many, but I know my kids enjoyed the experience and I learned a lot from the other parents. Raising children, like many other things in life, is harder than it looks. Being able share tips and techniques sure made my life easier at home, and my kids have turned into wonderful adults. Birch Grove Director Patty Nordahl would like to hear from you if you are interested. You can email her at bgf@boreal.org, leave a message at the Birch Grove Foundation Facebook page, or talk to her when you see her at the carnival.

A presentation titled: “The Cook County Economy: It’s not in great shape and why that matters,” is scheduled for Wed., Oct. 31 starting at 11:30 am at Cook County Higher Education’s North Shore Campus in Grand Marais. Randy Lasky, from the Northspan Group, and Josh Bergstad from the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, will share the research they’ve conducted on Cook County’s economy. They’ve been working at the request of the Cook County GO Team, which is an ad hoc committee of 22 community leaders that are exploring ways to strengthen Cook County’s economy. Their stated goal is “creating sustainable development for all.”

The event is part of a monthly series of business networking luncheons sponsored by Cook County Higher Education. Lunch will be catered by Cascade Lodge Restaurant and there is a reasonable charge. It would be a good idea to RSVP to Higher Ed at 387-3411 or email highered@northshorecampus.org.

All the signs of impending winter are here. The tamaracks are a deep gold and are painting the ground beneath them the same color. The deer have become suicidal along every road in the West End, flinging themselves in front of cars with reckless abandon. The weather has thankfully provided the late fall moisture that we count on, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the smaller lakes freeze up in the first week of November. Here at Sawbill, our last canoeing party has returned from their trip and I suspect there will be no others this season.

Everyone in Cook County should have received their election ballot in the mail by now. If you haven’t, contact the Cook County Auditor. You can also vote in person on election day at the courthouse in Grand Marais. Exercising our right to vote is our most important act of citizenship and is the bedrock of what makes civil society function. In my opinion, there is way too much secret money and special interest influence in American politics these days. But, at the end of the day, it’s your vote that determines the future. As the late Paul Wellstone used to say, “We’re all better off, when we’re all better off.”